Baby Steps
by xXxRin-tanxXx
Summary: Naru has been reverted to a child after an encounter with an especially mischievous spirit and Mai, through some circumstances, has been asked to care for him until Lin finds a way to reverse the effects of Naru's curse. Ultimately, it doesn't go well for the sixteen-year-old brunette.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** Naru has been reverted to a child after an encounter with an especially mischievous spirit and Mai, through some circumstances, has been asked to care for him until Lin finds a way to reverse the effects of Naru's curse. Ultimately, it doesn't go well for the sixteen-year-old brunette.

**Warning:** OOC. Possible Profanities. Crackfic? Rated T.

**Pairing:** Naru/Mai

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Ghost Hunt. No copyright infringement is intended.

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**Chapter One **

How had it come to _this_?

Mai juggled a four-year-old Naru in her arms as she continued to stare at Lin with a mixture of desperation, incredulity and amusement. She blinked, stared at Naru then back up at Lin.

"It'll only be for a while," Lin said. "When I come back, I should be able to break the curse."

Naru glowered at him. Mai couldn't seem to break from her disbelief. Lin, feeling awfully uncomfortable, took the chance to quickly turn tail and run. Mai looked down at the child and both engaged in a staring contest until the brunette decided to break it.

"Naru," she began, brightly, "are you hungry?"

The child opened his mouth to tell her to put him down, but what came out was a "Pwut me down". He stopped trying to speak, clamping his mouth shut, and Mai burst into laughter. Naru looked absolutely _scandalised_. He shot her a glare but the impact of that fell short because he was so short and so _adorable._

And because she was still holding him.

Afraid that she would actually smother Naru to death, Mai stood her boss on the floor and watched as he hurried away into another room, never glancing back at her. Mai snickered and shook her head. The situation was too ridiculous. But the cause had been equally absurd.

Their latest case had left Naru as a child and Mai as his caregiver until further notice. See, that particular ghost loved playing pranks—in her case, being dead enhanced her powers and her creativity—and she had decided she needed to cause another before moving on. Her attention had been drawn to Naru and that was that. Naru had been zapped to his child form, but only physically, Lin had decided to take the task of finding a way to reverse it by asking his family in China and the others were conveniently too busy to look after him—even _Masako_!

She had a sinking suspicion that everyone was plotting something, with the exception of Naru and, most likely, Lin, but she hadn't any proof.

Mai sighed and looked at the clock ticking away on the wall. It was time to feed Shiro. She rummaged through her cupboard and took out a can of cat food, emptied it onto a dish and headed to the door. She found Naru walking out of the toilet and told him she'd be back soon and to not go into the kitchen out of curiosity. Naru frowned at the teasing order; he looked like a child but he didn't think like one.

Mai left with a big smile on her face, leaving Naru alone.

The teen-turned-child wouldn't admit it aloud but he was curious. Where was she going with that plate? He wanted to follow after her, and it scared him just a little because he was never usually interested in Mai's escapades. Was he, mentally, turning into a child also? Granted his pronunciation on words had deteriorated but would he soon be exhibiting the deadly curiosity a child usually had? Would Mai actually be correct in warning him—though, playfully—to not enter the kitchen where all things sharp and dangerous were?

He shook his head defiantly and tried to tell himself that he was only curious because, last time he checked, Mai didn't have any pets. He easily came up with some logic—or excuse—as to why he would be following Mai like a stalker child because 'curiosity' was not a good enough excuse for Naru.

Mai was clumsy and highly accident-prone. He had to watch her otherwise she would injure herself and then _he_ would have to look after them both instead of it being the other way around. He "hmph"-ed quietly. It was a miracle she could go up and down the stairs without tripping herself every time.

Okay, maybe he was exaggerating.

But then memories of another previous case flashed in his mind and he realised that, no, he wasn't exaggerating in the least. Mai had fallen down the stairs and had also tripped going up. Her excuse had been something about how she didn't see the, extra, steps or thought she'd reached the landing already.

He reached for the door knob and found that although he could touch it, he couldn't wrap his hand around it to turn it. Naru's eyes darted to the small stool he'd found before and used to help him sit himself on the toilet seat without having to touch it. He could've asked Mai to help him with that—and also help him reach the sink—but he _did not_ want her to dote on him further or laugh at him. That was already too much of a humiliation.

Standing tall on the stool, he grasped the knob and quickly opened it. He hurried down the flight of stairs as fast as his stubby, little legs could take him without injuring himself and when he finally reached the entrance to the apartment complex, he spotted Mai's skirt outside. With all his might, he pushed the door open and squeezed out, careful to not let Mai suspect his presence.

He peeked from behind the wall and saw a small shelter. Craning his neck, he caught sight of a cat. When the cat flicked its tail in his direction and stopped eating altogether, he quickly hid back behind the wall.

"What's wrong, Shiro?" he heard Mai ask.

"_Meow_," the cat purred and resumed eating once again. Naru, for all that was odd about him at the moment, had the insane urge to _pet_ the cat. He pouted; Naru was agitated at having to fight off, and fend himself from, impulses he had never bothered himself with before.

He peeked at the cat again but this time, he lost his balance at the small step and found himself falling quickly. The impact between the ground and his small body hurt and the tears threatened to shed involuntarily but he stopped it. He had an image to uphold, after all. Child or not. Mai heard him and turned to find him standing himself up, brushing off the dirt that was now dirtying his clothes.

"N-Naru?" she said. "What are you doing here?" She hurried over to his side and examined his injured knees and hands. "Well, the wounds aren't too bad. I'll have to disinfect and patch it up when we get back so hold on until then, okay?"

"Mai, I'm not a child and I'm not going to cwy," he said and immediately scowled at his words. "Don't tweat me like a kid."

"Yes, yes, Naru-sama."

They both stood in silence for a long time until Naru took a step towards the cat, forcing himself to keep his excitement in check and to remain as casual as possible.

"That's Shiro," Mai said. "The landlord won't let me keep him in my apartment but he allowed me to use this small shelter."

Naru reached a hand out to pet the cat, which had once again stopped eating to look a Naru, and unknowingly grinned when he did. Mai decided to stay quiet as she wanted to see his smiles as much as possible; that and the fact that she'd never seen Naru _grin_ before. Such a rare sight must not be wasted and destroyed.

She reached for her phone in her pocket and, to Naru's obliviousness, quickly snapped a picture.

…

"Madoka," Lin sighed, "I did what you wanted."

"Good boy," his colleague grinned. "Here's the photo and I swear I will never breathe a word of this to anyone."

Lin grumbled and quickly pocketed the embarrassing photo Madoka had used to blackmail him.

"Now all we have to do is wait for those two to bond, fall in love, get married and give me lots of godchildren to pamper and spoil!"

Lin shook his head. When Naru found out about this, he was going to be livid and Lin had no intention of sticking around and staying in the same room as him when he did.

"Say, I know you said the effects of that spirit's prank would eventually die down," Madoka mentioned as an afterthought, "but _when_ is Naru going to turn back?"

The spirit's words ran through Lin's mind—something about it had bugged him continuously and now that he seriously thought about it, the prankster had mainly been speaking to Naru—the Naru who had been too occupied with staring at his chubby, little hands and feet in horror.

"_Have a great two months!"_

Two hellish months of lying to both Naru and Mai and playing along with Madoka and Yasuhara's plans. He, Madoka, Yasuhara, Bou-san, Ayako, John and, surprisingly, Masako were playing a very, very dangerous game.

* * *

**To Be Continued… **

* * *

**I wrote this to relieve myself from stress and worry and so this, somewhat crack-ish, fic was born! I'll update this whenever inspiration next hits so that means it could be tomorrow or months later. **

**But! I hope you enjoyed this so far. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Huge thanks to the following for reviewing: **Guest, Celestial Star12, Ferb O. Oche, Shinobi of life, xiaoj, Hikari Reizumi, WhisperToTheWolves, wolf of all trades, law, p. ageha, deadlyrose123, thearistocrat, KawaiixKawaii, TinkToxiixix, uchiha . sakura .23, animeluver23, Naruisawesome, HalfVampire2

**Hikari Reizumi **No, no. Haha. Naru isn't turning into a child mentally. He's just being pessimistic, which could make sense since he did shrink into the form of a kid. Plus, what does Naru know of his own feelings? Ha! I bet Naru was interested in all of Mai's escapades—he just didn't know it before. I will admit I had started writing him as a child, physically _and_ mentally, but then I was like "Hold up! If Naru has completely turned into a child, I just lost an important half in the romance between the main characters!" so I changed it but I couldn't help but make him slightly…_afraid_ of the "what-ifs". Haha.

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**Chapter Two **

Naru woke up to the faint smell of seaweed and the movement of being carried. Yawning lightly, he was only half aware that Mai was carrying him again. He didn't bother to open his eyes and instead snuggled his face deeper into the crook of Mai's neck, gently lulled back to sleep by her rhythmic pulse and the smell of her lemon shampoo.

The next time he woke, he found himself glaring at the brunette, who was shooting him apologetic glances as she struggled to keep her calm with the person on the other line. Her loud voice had shattered whatever temporary and small peace he had found and, needless to say, he wasn't exactly happy.

"You've got to be kidding me!" was what Naru caught in-between yawning. "What do you mean he'll be back in two months, Madoka?"

He froze.

Did that mean he would have to stay in this ridiculously inconvenient form for a whole _two months_?

He snatched the cell from Mai's hands, disregarded her protests and started speaking to Madoka. Unfortunately, while the first words he said to her were of perfect pronunciation without the humiliating 'w' to replace or join some letters or words, his _voice_ was what had his mentor cooing on the other end about how cute he sounded and how she wished he'd stay that way forever.

"And before I forget"—he could practically _hear_ the woman grinning on the other end—"you probably already know this since you're a certified narcissist but your smiling face is _so_ cute! Though not as cute as my Haru. And why didn't you tell me you like cats? Ah, but I digress. The point is: you need to smile more. That way, you'll get Mai to blush—"

Irritated, he immediately hung up on her, cutting her off mid-sentence. He hoped he never saw her face while he was little and unable to fight off her _adoration_. Turning to the brunette, he gave her cell back and said, in a tone that left no room for compromises or excuses, "I'm hungry."

"Here," she said, holding the small container of sliced fruit out to him. "Apple."

"I don't want fwuits."

"Well, deal," she said. "That's all I have on me at the moment."

"Why are we outside?" His mood wasn't pleasant.

"Because," Mai said, "I was going to go to the supermarket to shop for groceries but a certain someone insisted on coming, and that certain someone then _fell asleep_."

"So you didn't go," he said, eyebrows arched as if to say 'you idiot'.

She glowered at her boss.

"Of course, I didn't! I had to _carry_ you, you ungrateful jerk," she fumed. "How do expect me to hold you and sort through the vegetables then grab a bag to put it in all _at the same time_?"

"It's a matter of pwocess." He cut her off before she even had the chance to retort with some angry remark. "Lesh go."

"Eh?" Mai was surprised. "Go where?"

"Shupamarket, idiot."

…

Mai fidgeted, unsure on whether to laugh or panic. They were quickly attracting the attention of shoppers, but Naru didn't seem to notice. Or care.

He was still ranting.

The poor woman, a mere stranger, subjected to the child's temper had only, accidentally, knocked him down. She hadn't seen him as she struggled to hold ten packets of chips and, clearly, hadn't thought to grab a basket beforehand. And so that led to the simply _horrific_ crime of knocking her boss onto the floor and him beginning a thirty minute rant on how she should watch where she was going and whether her eyes were just for show.

But in adorable speech and with an impeccable vocabulary at his disposal.

Just as he was getting particularly vicious, Mai quickly cut him off by blocking his mouth with her hand. She grunted slightly as he struggled and, ignoring the stares and murmurs, quickly uttered an apology to the now distressed woman and walked with great hurry to the checkout.

She could feel Naru's glare drilling holes in her.

At least he didn't make someone cry, though the woman had definitely been on the verge of shedding tears.

Mai let out a drawn out sigh as she high-tailed both of them out of the supermarket. People were still looking and Mai had no intention of lavishing in the attention. She was offended when she heard some suggest she was his _mother_.

With an angry huff, she marched past multiple shops with Naru beside her. Naru, however, paused for a moment to stare at a shop and it didn't go unnoticed by the brunette. Anger dispelled, she followed his gaze to a kids' clothing shop and looked back at him.

"Did you need something, Naru?"

He turned away.

"No."

"Naru."

He glared.

She walked into the shop, completely disregarding his scowl, and raised a brow as if challenging him to follow after her. He was adorable even when he muttered his annoyance under his breath, clearly aimed her way.

"So what did you need, Naru?"

He answered with a less-than-pleased scowl. In fact, it never left his face. Mai simply decided to follow him, for he had taken up walking. She found herself in the undies section.

"Don't you have any?" she asked, confused.

"Lin didn't pack any sizes for four-year-olds," he explained.

"Well, you'll need some," Mai said, checking through her wallet. "Let's get you some undies!"

"Shut up, Mai!" he said, glaring sharply at her and sporting a light blush. "People are looking."

"What's wrong with that?" she retorted. "Besides, you didn't seem to have a problem earlier when you were yelling at that poor woman."

Clearly trying to be the better person, Naru held back the insult forming on the tip of his tongue and attempted to ignore her, turning his attention on the undergarments, which were bright and colourful and absolutely nothing like him.

Mai held in a laugh. She found amusement in his silent annoyance until something on her right caught her attention.

She held it up in front of him, sporting a mischievous and hopeful grin.

"Ne, Naru, I think this one with blue polka dots is pretty."

He shot her a death glare that could've skewered her alive, and she stopped herself from "aww"-ing like someone deprived of cuteness. Still, no matter how much he wished for it, it didn't change the fact that his once scary glares were now adorable glares. It took everything in her power to not grab her boss and smother him in a giant bear hug.

"I don't care fwor your opinion."

"Okay, then what about this one?" she suggested. "It's pink with stripes."

"Mai—"

"Personally, pink isn't my favourite but I know for a fact that Madoka likes it."

"Mai—"

"So, when we get home, you could maybe model for me and I could take some pictures for Madoka," she trailed off. "I do owe her, after all. I swear…that woman knows all our secrets."

"Enough!"

She pursed her lips before rummaging through her bag and pulling out the uneaten container of apples.

"Hungry?"

"Mai," he said, bitingly, "go and look awound shomewhere in the shop. When I'm done, I'll find you."

…

Mai bit her lip to stop the giggle from coming out. It wouldn't be appropriate in this case, especially when she was the one getting into trouble.

But the look on Naru's face was _priceless_.

Not five minutes into shopping for his underwear, he had been found by one of the employees and asked where his mummy was. With the threat of being taken to the office to ask over loudspeaker for his "mummy" looming over him, poor little Naru was left with no other choice but to pull out his phone and punch in the brunette's number, as the employee wouldn't allow him to find her, or go anywhere out of her sight.

Mai listened to the woman and nodded at appropriate times whilst continuously glancing over at Naru, whose expression was darkening with each passing second over annoyance and humiliation. He knew Mai would never completely let him forget.

He was right.

Already, she was planning on ways to effectively use this piece of blackmail material.

He shot her a scowl, knowing full well what she was thinking, and she responded with a grin. The employee sighed, and then asked whether Mai was going to buy the underwear clasped in Naru's little, pudgy hands.

Mai nodded and Naru allowed the woman to take it to scan and put in a bag. Mai pulled the full amount in cash before grabbing the bag and Naru's hand and heading out quickly before anymore unfair judgement could be passed onto her.

A few moments of silence passed over them before Naru felt the need to break it.

"Tell anyone and I'll eat the rwest of the Pocky you have stashed in the cupboawd."

Now that right there was unfair.

* * *

**To Be Continued… **


End file.
